Lab Members
Haiqi is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences. Haiqi received a Ph.D. in Molecular Endocrinology through a joint program between the University of Hong Kong and the Population Council at the Rockefeller University in 2017. In 2018, he began his postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard as a Lalor fellow, and later on started an independent research program at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in late 2021.
In his free time, Haiqi enjoys Sci-Fi novels and soccer.
Skylar is a Research Technician in the Chen lab. He earned his bachelor and master degrees in biology at Baylor University between 2020 and 2026. During his master thesis, he worked in the lab of Dr. Christopher Kearney lab studying and developing antimicrobial peptides to target Staphylococcus aureus.
Currently, Sylar is interested in leveraging high throughput genomics and functional approaches to study the reproductive systems.
Shenlu is a postdoctoral fellow in the Chen Lab. She earned her Ph.D. through a joint program between Fudan University and Westlake University in China, where she studied how maternal nutrient levels influence adult health outcomes in C. elegans. Following this, she completed her first postdoctoral training in the Department of Physiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, investigating novel mitochondrial effectors.
Currently, Shenlu is interested in leveraging high throughput genomics and functional approaches to systematically uncover the functions of novel proteins in the reproductive systems.
Huong is a research technician in the Chen lab. She attended Northwestern University from 2020-2024 to obtain her B.S./M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. During that time, she worked in the lab of Prof. John A. Roger to develop a device for simultaneous neuronal imaging and wireless drug delivery.
Huong is currently working on developing a spatial metabolomics platform.
Xin Zhang is a postdoctoral fellow in the Chen lab. Xin received his Ph.D. in Reproductive Medicine from the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine in Nanjing Medical University. During his Ph.D., he focused on understanding the genetic causes of azoospermia. He studied the ultrastructure of sperm flagella and identified key genes and their roles in the motion of flagella. Xin has ample experience generating genetic animal models using CRISPR-based gene editing tools.
Xin is currently interested in dissecting gene functions at scale by combining CRISPR screen with spatial -omics technologies.
Qiqi Cao is a joint postdoctoral researcher of the Chen lab and the Grow lab at the Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences. Qiqi obtained her Ph.D. in Reproductive Medicine from the State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Medical University. Her work during her PhD focused on female infertility. She identified genetic variants in maternal genes and their pathogenic mechanisms in maternal-embryo transition.
Qiqi is currently working on building a spatial transcriptome atlas for ovarian follicles and the development of new spatial -omics technologies.
We are hiring!
Postdoctoral fellows may e-mail Haiqi at Haiqi.Chen@utsouthwestern.edu with a CV, statement of research interests, and 2-3 references. Please click here for details.
We are also looking for motivated undergraduates and graduate students!
We welcome everyone regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic and immigration status.
(1) Melanie Evans, REI Fellow (2022-2023). Currently - clinician at Dallas Fort Worth Fertility Associates;
(2) Deina Bossa, Resident in OBGYN (2023-2024). Currently - REI fellow at University of Rochester Medical Center.
(3) Shreya Rajachandran, Research Technician (2022-2024). Currently - medical student at UT Austin Medical School.
(4) Angie Huang, Rotation Student (2024). Currently - graduate student at UT Southwestern Medical Center
(5) Qianlan Xu, Postdoctoral Fellow (2024-2025). Currently - Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Chicago.
(6) Claire Wang, Green Fellow (2026). Currently - Undergarduate at UT Dallas.
(7) Rahil Alhumaidi, Research Technician (2025-2026). Currently - research associate at UT Southwestern Medical Center.